Leader Guide

Throwing Game

Seven Times Hotter Poster
Two medium size boxes-larger classes may need three utility knife or any sharp knife, for the teacher to use before class
Thirty sheets of paper-recycled if possible, use more for three boxes
Table
Bibles or Superbook Bible App

Copy the Seven Times Hotter Poster, in color or black and white.

On the top middle of each box, carefully cut out a 6" square—see illustration.

On the front of each box, carefully cut out another 6" square starting at the bottom and going up to the middle—see poster illustration.

Wad up the sheets of paper to make “fuel balls.”

Place the boxes—furnaces—on a table near one end of the room, with the front opening of each box facing out toward the throwing line. Leave several feet between each box.

Mark a throwing line about 10–12 feet away from the boxes—adjust as desired.

Hold up the poster of the furnace. The furnaces in Bible times were very large and made of stone or brick. They were used to make bricks or to heat and shape metal. The king was furious that the three Hebrew men would not obey his command to worship the statue of gold. He was so mad that he ordered the furnace to be made seven times hotter than it normally was! The servants could not just turn a dial to a hotter setting! The furnace could only be made hotter by blowing air into it with a tool called a bellows, or by adding fuel to the fire.

Divide the children into two teams. Teams do not need to be equal. Have them stand behind the mark in separate lines. Place a pile of ten paper “fuel balls” at the mark for each team. Hold up the fuel balls and point to the boxes—furnaces—as you explain the game.

The goal of our game today is to make the furnaces hotter by throwing “fuel balls” into them. The king ordered the furnace to be made seven times hotter than it normally was, so today we need to throw seven fuel balls into the top or the front of your furnace. The first team to do this wins. Each player gets to throw two fuel balls on their turn and then go to the back of the line. When you run out of fuel, a player must go get the balls that missed the furnace and return them to your team.

Start the game and make sure all children have a chance to throw. For faster game play, have sixth grade helpers or other assistants return the missed balls to the teams as needed. Play several times as time permits.

By commanding the furnaces to be made hotter, King Nebuchadnezzar only made God’s miracle more amazing! He did not believe God could rescue the three men. The king said in Daniel 3:15:

“I will give you one more chance to bow down and worship the statue I have made when you hear the sound of the musical instruments. But if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?”

The heat that baked bricks or molded metal was blazing and intense, and no human could survive it without a miracle from God. In fact, the furnace was so hot that the guards who threw the Hebrew men into the fire instantly died—and they were only close to the fire, not in it! Daniel 3:27 says that the fire did not touch the Hebrew men. Their hair was not singed, and their clothing was not scorched. God is all-powerful and amazing—and He is able to rescue us from anything!

Because the three men were willing to die for their faith in God, the king became a believer, too! He said in Daniel 3:28:

“Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent His angel to rescue His servants who trusted in Him. They defied the king’s command and were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.”

Let’s say the SuperTruth together: “I trust God to rescue me.”

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